The internet was abuzz when Google Inc.'s (GOOG) "Street View" cars -- camera equipped vehicles engaged in capture a massive street level photographic view of the world's streets -- captured images of a donkey lying in an Indian street. The donkey looked badly injured or possibly dead, and the car tracks in the image looked somewhat like the Google car might have struck it.

But Google is firing back, insisting that it did not hit the donkey. A Google spokesperson is quoted as saying, "Our Street View teams take the safety of people and donkeys very seriously."

Some commenters sought to dispel the heated debate, arguing that the donkey might not be dead or dying at all, but merely resting in the street. They point out that it could have walked out and laid down in the road after the Google Street View car came by.

Some folks are upset about images of what looks like a dead donkey that were captured by a Google Street View car in India. [Image Source: News.com.au]

Last June the city of Bangalore kicked out the Street View cars for an interesting new reason. The city's police complained that Google's highly detailed images could be used by terrorists to help plan their attacks. The state capital was hit by deadly terrorist bombings back in 2008.

And it is clear that the donkey walked there after the car tracks, as you can clearly see the hoof prints in the ground/dirt over top of the car tracks (notice how the one that drags through the dirt caused mounds of dirt to form? If the car had run over that, you would see the car track going over the mounds, or completely covering that track).

No exactly true. The donkey was playing on the ground prior to the Google vehicle getting there. If you backup the pictures you can see where another vehicle was going the other direction and you can see the donkey walking at that point. So the donkey is walking prior and after they played on the ground.

BTW. anyone who has horses knows how the horses like to scratch their backs on the ground by rolling around. Typically in dirt.

quote: If you backup the pictures you can see where another vehicle was going the other direction and you can see the donkey walking at that point.

Agree. As others have said, the correct side of the road to drive on in Botswana is the left, not the right.Also, when you back up you can see dust in the air from the back of the Streetview car, but it isn't present when the car gets to the donkey, meaning the Streetview car driver had slowed down for the donkey.Thus, if you view the entire thing as a driver on the left of the road, you will see a vehicle towing a trailer with a cloud of dust behind it, then the donkey lying on the ground, then, after passing it, you can see it standing up, and then dust from the rear of the Streetview car.If you view it as a driver on the right, you will see dust coming out of the front of the Streetview car, then a donkey standing, then after passing it, the donkey lying down, and then a vehicle passing you being reversed at high speed, with a cloud of dust shooting out of the "front" of the trailer.